Bringing a painting to a finish

[Chris Saper]

I have a mental checklist that goes like this:

Is my center of interest what I intended?
Are the values masses clearly?
Does the composition hold together from across the room?
Are the color temperatures in light and shadow unified?
Does the color harmony work?
Do the edges support movement across the canvas?
Is there anything I can do to improve the drawing, or the painting as a whole- and often that means taking something out rather than putting something in.

I do way more tweaking than I used to, and I think my paintings have improved. I learned that it is possible to keep improving a painting without overworksing it.